And now the end is near for Maurizio Sarri, who can at least say “I did it my way.”

Bruce had a cabbage thrown at him before last night's game.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has revealed he has suffered sleepless nights plotting the downfall of Barcelona and Lionel Messi.

Antonio Conte insists Chelsea's season will be considered a success - even if it finishes without a trophy.

Antonio Conte insists Chelsea’s season will be considered a success — even if it finishes without a trophy.

Antonio Conte has suggested there is a fixture conspiracy against his Chelsea side.

Juggling European commitments with domestic ones is a new challenge for head coach Antonio Conte at Chelsea.

John Terry insists adding a Championship promotion with Aston Villa to his decorated CV would rival his other significant achievements in the game.

New manager Steve Bruce is confident Aston Villa can still mount a promotion challenge this season despite a poor start to the campaign.

Steve Bruce is the new Aston Villa manager, the club have confirmed.

Aston Villa have sacked manager Roberto Di Matteo after just 123 days, the club have announced.

Aston Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo has told Jack Grealish to grow up as the midfielder faces an anxious wait to discover his fate.

Leeds’ new head coach Garry Monk is confident he can succeed where half a dozen others have failed by turning the club into Championship promotion contenders under owner Massimo Cellino.

Aston Villa are expected to step up their move for Roberto Di Matteo after Chinese businessman Tony Xia completed his takeover. Villa confirmed in a statement that former owner Randy Lerner’s reign had finally come to a close following the deal with Xia’s Recon Group.

Antonio Conte yesterday confirmed the worst-kept secret in football as he was named as Chelsea’s new head coach yesterday.

Chelsea have appointed Italy coach Antonio Conte as their new first-team head coach, the club have announced.

Antonio Conte has been appointed Chelsea's first-team head coach on a three-year contract.

Swansea have appointed Alan Curtis as their manager until the end of the season.

Man City 2 Swansea 1: Swansea City will step up their search for a new boss this week and the hotseat will look an attractive proposition despite a defeat at title favourites Manchester City.

Fate has a way of setting up enticing Champions League encounters and Chelsea’s showdown against Porto tomorrow is up there with the best, writes David Shonfield.

Still exhibiting the nonchalance which typified his stellar playing career, it says much for the FAI’s €5m hush deal with Fifa that it makes Ruud Gullit fume.

Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez has said he will “only speak about football” after Jose Mourinho’s criticism of him and his wife.

Roberto Di Matteo could be heading to West Ham after the former Champions League winner resigned as Schalke boss.

Eden Hazard has sprung to the defence of former coach Rafa Benitez after Chelsea captain John Terry took a swipe at the Spaniard after the Blues clinched the Premier League title last weekend.

Schalke 0 Real Madrid 2: Cristiano Ronaldo returned to goal scoring form and Marcelo was also on target as holders Real Madrid opened their Champions League last-16 tie with a 2-0 win at Schalke.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti believes tonight’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Schalke offers Cristiano Ronaldo a great chance to end his mini goal drought. 

Manchester City defender Matija Nastasic claims he has no issues with manager Manuel Pellegrini as he prepares to join Schalke on loan.

Schalke have announced the loan signing of Matija Nastasic from Manchester City.

Werder Bremen piled the misery on Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund with a 2-1 Bundesliga win at the Weserstadion today.

Chelsea 3 Sporting Lisbon 1

Serious Champions League business begins for Chelsea in February after Jose Mourinho's men completed their unbeaten Group G campaign with a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon.

Champions League Group G

Captain John Terry, Eden Hazard and Willian were absent as Chelsea finalised preparations for their Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon.

Jose Mourinho will not compare his current Chelsea side to that of his first reign at Stamford Bridge because they have yet to back up their ability with trophies.

Schalke 0 Chelsea 5

Roberto Di Matteo played down the talk of a revenge mission as Chelsea visited Gelsenkirchen to take on his Schalke side - but it was embarrassment that greeted the Italian as the Blues eased into the knockout stages of the Champions League tonight.

Jose Mourinho insists he is not motivated by the thought of matching Roberto Di Matteo’s achievement of winning the Champions League with Chelsea.

Schalke always have three managers, their supporters will tell you: the last one, the present one and the next one.

Jose Mourinho insists Chelsea versus Schalke on Tuesday night should not be billed as a clash between him and his opposite number Roberto Di Matteo.

Jose Mourinho took responsibility for Chelsea’s complacency but also pointed the finger at the officials after a 1-1 draw at Champions League minnows Maribor.

Roberto Di Matteo is the new Schalke coach after the Bundesliga side acted quickly to replace outgoing boss Jens Keller yesterday morning.

Schalke have appointed Roberto Di Matteo as their new coach after relieving Jens Keller of his duties on Tuesday morning.

Jose Mourinho, as he used to remind us, is not one out of the bottle; but if anyone could possibly bottle the remarkable essence of success that seeps from his every pore and guided Chelsea to yet another remarkable victory at Stamford Bridge it would surely be worth a fortune not even Roman Abramovich could afford.

Forget Jose Mourinho’s reverse psychology when he writes off Chelsea’s chances of winning the Premier League — this is the Champions League and his message is clear: “We can win.”

West Brom defender Steven Reid is in no doubt that the club are in a relegation battle and has emphasised the need for them to “dig in” while the search for Steve Clarke’s permanent successor continues.